Dressing the Groom

Rocking the Wedding: Black Tuxedos for Grooms

When I asked Mr. W what he wanted to wear for the wedding, his answer was simple: “a tux.” But knowing that could mean anything from baby blue and ruffled to white-tie formal, I pushed him further and got a very simple answer: “I want to look like James Bond.”

So naturally, being the loving, supportive person that I am, I showed Mr. W a bunch of pictures of Daniel Craig in a swimsuit, and handed him a workout plan. I’m lucky we have similar senses of humor—he took it the right way.

And even though I LOVE the look of a navy tux, he wants to be James Bond. And that means a classic black tux. Slim cut, bow tie, but no cummerbund. I’m good with that—Mr. W looks GREAT in a tux. And luckily, classic black tuxedos are pretty easy to find, both for rent and for sale.

The black-on-navy look I was hoping for…but whatever, it’s his day too | Image via Macy’s

We went back and forth on whether to buy or rent a tux…the internet says if you plan on wearing it more than three times, it’s worth buying. And weirdly, Mr. W has more cause to wear a tux than his suit here in LA…the land of casual clothes. So we opted to buy.

The Tux Mr. W will be wearing at the wedding—but with a bow tie, we think | Image via Macy’s

Neither of us was anticipating buying a tux till mid January—but then we stumbled upon a beautiful one, at a steal of a price. Even better, the shiny shoes* were on sale, too, so at this point, all Mr. W needs is minimal tailoring, a bow tie (old school, not pre-tied at his insistence), and a tuxedo shirt. My dad even gave him a set of really cool studs and cufflinks for Christmas.

Now we just need to figure out the groomsmen. Something similar but not the same. Probably rental tuxes, since they don’t go fancy as frequently as we do.

*Side note about the shiny shoes—I did a lot of Googling as to WHY men wear the shiny shoes with tuxes, and I didn’t get much of an answer. I did, however, learn the one time you SHOULDN’T wear shiny patent shoes at a black tie event. Any guesses?

Answer: When you’re going Highland formal and rocking a kilt. Shiny shoes plus the traditional undergarments are a no-go.